I also loved Ole Gunnar Solskjær. He was ruthless. His finishing was ­ridiculous

Adam Le Fondre

United fanatic Le Fondre was booted out of Old Trafford for being too lazy but has since made the grade as a Premier League striker with top-flight new boys Reading.

Now Le Fondre, 25, is eagerly anticipating trying to gun down United when the Royals face Sir Alex Ferguson’s giants on his birthday, December 1 – although he says he would rather score the ­winner against Man City to help the Red Devils.

One thing he will have to do, though, is listen to his United-mad dad, Glen, who will tell him to resist the temptation to put his collar up and mimic his rebellious Reds hero Eric Cantona.

Le Fondre told the Daily Star Sunday: “With Cantona I loved his arrogance. I remember strutting around the Sunday League pitch and I thought I was him. The arrogance he had about him was ­something I loved to watch.

“I also loved Ole Gunnar Solskjær. He was ruthless. His finishing was ­ridiculous.

“To be fair, I wouldn’t be where I am right now without my dad, he was a ­massive influence on me.

“He used to pull me down a peg or two, saying, ‘You’re not Cantona so just play your own game’.

“Obviously you take things from other players you see but I know I’m not Cantona and as a ten-year-old I definitely wasn’t Cantona – but you have to try to emulate people.

“I went when I was seven for a trial in the Under-9s but they said I was too lazy. I went for a trial match and scored a hat-trick but they pulled me aside afterwards and Wilf McGuinness said, ‘You’re too lazy’.

“I went for a six-week trial over the school holidays, training three times a week. Then we played a practice match and I scored a hat-trick and we won 5-1 – but they let me go. I remember afterwards I was in the shower crying and my dad went mad at me, saying, “What have you done? You’ve not done this, you’ve not done that!’

Hitman Le Fondre, who played at Stockport, Rochdale and Rotherham before moving to the Madejski Stadium for £350,000 last season, added: “Dad was my ­harshest critic. I could score six in a game and he’d have me in tears ­saying how badly I’d done.

“That was a good thing as it made me want to improve that much more. If I scored a hat- trick he’d say, ‘What about the left-footer you missed?’”

Le Fondre added: “I’d love to score against United but I think I’d prefer to hit the winner at the Etihad!

“It is my birthday so it will be a good present if I score. Then Old Trafford is in March. I’ll have a ticket list of about 50 family for that one!”